The White County Warriorettes and Warriors split their doubleheader with Cumberland County for the second consecutive night.
The Lady Jets won the opener, with the Warriors winning the finale.
The Lady Jets (16-10, 9-3) created a three-way tie for first place atop District 7/AAA with a 45-37 win over the Warriorettes (21-6, 9-3) to close out the regular season.
Fourth-ranked White County struggled to make shots and with turnovers as they lost control of the top seed in the upcoming district tournament.
“When you hold somebody to 43 points, you ought to win ballgames,” said WCHS head coach Michael Dodgen. “We had ample opportunities. We had four or five great defensive stops and we didn’t capitalize on it. We’re not going to point fingers. Bottom line, we’ve got to get the job done. For the last two games, we got outplayed and we got outworked. That’s not acceptable.”
The two teams battled early in the game, with the Lady Jets taking a 13-11 lead at the end of the first quarter.
CCHS opened the second quarter on a 5-0 run to take a seven-point lead, but Sparta answered with a run of their own. Nia Powers made a basket with two seconds left in the half to cut the deficit to 23-22 at the break.
The Lady Jets full court pressure began to find success in the second half as they forced numerous WCHS turnovers, but the Sparta defense kept them in the game. The Lady Jets took a four-point lead into the fourth quarter.
CCHS junior guard Emery Baragona made four free throws in the fourth quarter, and the Warriorettes continued to struggle with turnovers as the Lady Jets secured their second win over Sparta in 24 hours.
“Defensively, I thought we were pretty good,” said Dodgen. “Offensively, we missed way too many easy shots. (Cumberland County) is really good defensively. They’re long. They get after it. They play hard. We’ve got to handle things a little bit better. Hopefully we can turn that page starting Tuesday.”
Abby Houston led the Lady Jets with 12 points. Baragona added 10. Jalynn Baldwin scored nine points.
For White County, Powers led the way with 20 points. Alaina Stiles added five.
The District 7/AAA meeting, where results will be made official, will be held on Monday, but the anticipated final standings will be:
- Cumberland County
- Livingston Academy
- White County
- Upperman
- DeKalb County
- Stone Memorial
- Macon County.
If those results hold, CCHS will have a first-round bye, and White County will host Stone Memorial on Tuesday night.
Dodgen said he is looking for his team to hit another level as they enter the district tournament in one of the top districts in the state.
“This district’s as good as any in the state,” said Dodgen. “We’ve got to find another switch and get to another level.”
The White County Warriors knocked off CCHS for the second time in 24 hours with a 63-50 win.
The Warriors (17-8, 8-4) got a dominant performance by junior Thomas Brock as they earned their fifth straight win to close out the regular season.
“Fantastic,” said WCHS head coach Eric Mitchell. “They just stepped up. We’ve come from dead in the water to second place. We’ve still got a lot of work to do. The scary thing is we can still improved.”
The Jets raced out to an early lead, but Sparta’s Brock and Jake Davis each made threes in the opening quarter to keep it close as CCHS led 11-9 after one.
Brock continued his hot start from the field, making two more threes and a floater in the second quarter. Thomas Paul made a free throw late in the frame as the Warriors took a 25-24 lead into the break.
Christian Henderson made a three from the corner in the third quarter, and the WCHS defense slowed down the Jets as the Warriors took a 41-34 lead into the final quarter.
Brock made two more threes to start the fourth quarter to extend the lead to double digits, and the Warriors made free throws down the stretch to secure the district win.
Brock led the way with 23 points, including seven threes. Paul tallied 21 points, including going 10/10 from the free throw line in the fourth quarter. Davis scored 11.
Brock had a rough shooting outing earlier in the season against Warren County, but since then has shot the ball at a high percentage. Mitchell said he had a conversation with the junior guard about how good a shooter he can be, and since then he has been strong from behind the arc.
“We knew he had it in him,” said Mitchell on Brock. “It was just a matter of time.”
The District 7/AAA regular season standings are:
- Stone Memorial
- White County
- Cumberland County
- Upperman
- Livingston Academy
- DeKalb County
- Macon County
White County will host Macon County on Wednesday night. Cumberland County will host DeKalb County.
Mitchell said he hopes his team is playing with momentum that could lead them on a long postseason run.
“I hope so,” said Mitchell. “This district is so tough. Anybody can beat anybody, but they’ve really stayed the course. I’m so proud of them.”White County Splits Doubleheader With Cumberland County For Second Straight Night
